San Francisco Decorator Showhouse

These stand out rooms are filled with color schemes that inspire and innovations that solve problems

Slide 1 Of San Francisco Decorator Showhouse

Design enthusiasts have been wowed with visual fanfare since 1977, when The San Francisco Decorator Showcase was launched. Since then, the prestigious showhouse has raised more than $11 million to benefit San Francisco University High School. Color schemes that inspire and innovations that solve problems--as in these stand-out rooms--emerge annually from both veteran designers and the region's new talent.

In Decorating 101, we learn that a can of paint is the easiest route to noteworthy transformation. Marion Philpotts Miller and Jonathan Staub painted turquoise over the black frame of a stately Asian daybed in the showhouse guest room. The strong color offers a contrast to the space's earth-toned background, a natural-looking palette anchored by a faux-bark wallpaper.

Intriguing architecture gave Suzanne Tucker a head start on this appealing dining room. She applied alluring neutrals to showcase the sunlight-flooded space. Subtle, hand-painted wallpaper was set between ceiling beams lightened to a warm, caramel tone. Whimsical dining chairs circle the round table, clothed in textured ivory silk and accented with amethyst glass.

The magic of showhouse rooms is often undermined by sticker shock. Not so in this dining space, where designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy kept to a tight budget but created the illusion of luxury. Mirrors and gold vinyl wallpaper set a sophisticated mood that begged for a graphic contrast. So Diaz-Azcuy chose a long, inexpensive white linen tablecloth topped with a black runner. Then he paraded a variety of porcelain pretties--all in white--down the runner. It makes a striking and fuss-free centerpiece that anchors the tabletop scheme. Black-and-white dinnerware pairs with mismatched purple water goblets. The spring-green pillows cushioning the backs of the dining chairs are a nod to the green peeking from the tablecloth's pleats that hang to the floor at the corners of the table.

Melanie Coddington teamed imaginative upholstery with mid-century modern furniture to design a lively blue-and-ivory living room. Tufted wing chairs are anything but stodgy with a treatment that stretched cream-colored velvet on the fronts and a silk damask on the sides and backs. Gently rounded and curvy shapes throughout the space provide enough visual oomph to eliminate the need for a lot of accessories that could create decorative clutter.